Bodacious

As I said, I found my knitting mojo. I had forgotten what it was like to knit on a deadline.

The kind of deadline where you take your knitting with you everywhere...the pool, to tea, knit nite. But the end result is worth it. Introducing...

I'm pretty smitten with this shawl because of the endless possibilities. Different weights of yarn. Leftovers. Gradients. Size. Change it up and have fun!

Bold. Audacious. Impressive. This shawl is the perfect vehicle to demonstrate just that. Show how plucky you are with your color choices. Whether it is one bold pop of color in the chevron pattern, such as the pink is used here, or a chevron of gradient hues, the possibilities are endless. This shawl also works well with a variety of different weight yarns too! Have fun with this. Be bold. Be plucky. Be bodacious!

Note: Instructions are written for a top-down shawl.  Both charted and written instructions are provided for the chevron edging.

Suggested Yarns: ~ 800 yards total of sport weight yarn or for 3-colors ~225 yards (Color A), 175 yards (Color B), and 400 yards (Color C) of sport weight yarn such as The Plucky Knitter Primo Sport

Materials:

·       Size US 7 (4.5 mm) or size to obtain gauge, knitting needles

·       Stitch markers

·       Tapestry needle

·       Blocking pins

Gauge:  ~22 sts and 30 rows= 4” over st st before blocking

Finished measurements: 72” wide and 28” long at center points, after blocking; note that the size may vary depending on the fiber content of the yarn and how rigorously the shawl is blocked.

Bodacious  

This shawl is one of the official SALs (stitch-along/knit-alongs) for Plucktober over in the Plucky Knitter Group on Ravelry. You can read more about it here. I can't wait to see all of the different color combinations you guys come up with! So excited that I'm even offering a special discount this week.

I'll be back with more exciting news in the next few days. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Happy knitting!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Found.

This weekend, while following doctor's orders to rest and ice my knee, I found a few things that I didn't realize I was looking for. Amazing what can happen when you disconnect from the internet for an entire weekend.

• my creativity 
• my knitting mojo
• my pattern writing mojo

The Plucky Knitter Primo Sport, colorways Petticoat, Twill, Tomboy

All good things to find, especially since I'm one of the designated designers for Plucktober, so I'm on a bit of a deadline. Here's just a sneak peak of something exciting to come.

And the Irish happened to find an offense AND a defense this weekend!! GO IRISH!! 

Before my internet disconnect, I did find some awesome pattern sales in the Plucktober thread. Be sure to check them out (including mine!). 

Have you found anything exciting lately? Here's to a short week ahead :)

Happy Knitting!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Oh the Places We Went and Food We Ate! Nashville Version

Warning! This post may cause a hankering for southern food. Especially biscuits.



When we heard that Stitches South would be in Nashville this year, it didn't take more than 60 seconds for us to decide that it would be a perfect trip for the Irish Girlie Knits Designs team. Looking back, I can't believe how much food and fun we packed in to such a short period of time. Most of that credit goes to the incredible organization of our knitterly travel companions @cupcake_faerie @2ducklips & @christinempk. Thanks so very much ladies!

First of all, we stayed at the convention center hotel and quickly found the Opryland Resort was appropriately named.




It was like a mini Disneyland!  There was a boat ride inside the hotel! Crazy!



And a waterfall!



First southern fried meal was from the iconic Loveless Cafe; complete with sides of fried green tomatoes and mac & cheese. And biscuits.



Biscuits and gravy...




Biscuits and jam... heavenly.

In the evening we headed to the Grand Ole Opry.



The young man above is Michael Ray who made his Opry debut that night and brought us all to tears with his heartfelt gratitude and raw emotion. The kid is going to be big.



He first sang "Green Green Grass of Home" as a tribute to his grandfather.  He followed it with his new single "Kiss You in the Morning."

The next morning we headed to Monell's for what we were told would be a true "Country Breakfast Experience."




A country breakfast is no joke...








This was just the first pass where I tried a bit of everything. The highlights were the sausage, fried chicken and the (surprise!) biscuits.

We walked off our full stomachs with a stroll around the Germantown neighborhood surrounding Monell's restaurant.

Then headed to Ann Patchett's store, Parnassus Books...







And took a little break at a darling coffeehouse:



Oh, remember we were there for Stitches South!

We also managed to meet up with some of the most lovely people in knitting:







Jody!! (GrannyKnits4U)



Donna had a booth for her store In The Making.



Ravelry IGK group member ChefCaroline!




And darling Sarah showed off Nashville in the Plucky Knitter booth!
(We did a lot of damage there - her yarns are beyond inspiring!)


Lest you think we were done with all the eating...

We got up super early on the day we flew out for one last biscuit frenzy.




It was sooo worth it.




 Not only can these people make the the Giselle of biscuits...




they take biscuits to the next level...



They fry biscuit dough into donuts, fill with lemon mascarpone cream and serve them with a blueberry sauce. Unbelievably delicious!


We were exhausted in the very best of ways!



Happy Knitting!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits
&
Tricia (@CheekyAttitude)

P.S. There's lots of fun sharing going on in the IGK Ravelry Group KAL. "Playing with Color" is the theme. The Dancette pattern is on sale for the month of May. Perfect springtime knit in gorgeous color.

Good things. The quick version.

There have been so many good things I've wanted to share the past few weeks that the list keeps getting bigger and bigger and then this post becomes daunting and doesn't happen. So I'm going to just jump in and write as many as I can remember, and yes, it will include pictures of the Easter bunny (I know! I'm sorry it has been forever!), but it will also include pictures of yarn! Prepping for Nashville took a lot out of me, but was so worth it, so thanks for bearing with the quiet around here for a bit. It's nice to be back!

Good things.

1. Let's start with that Easter Bunny!

2. And someone turned 8! 8?!?!? You guys remember when he was this little, right?! Just crazy. 

3. I finished my Gradient version of the Nashville shawl just in time for Stitches South! I was so glad I was able to show it to Sarah in person.

4. I loved seeing Nashville in the Plucky Knitter booth at Stitches South. The Plucky Knitter is having a Stitches South After Party Instant Gratification Update this Friday if you want to grab some yarn to cast on!

5. Speaking of Plucky, check out the new Plucky Knitter Collection, Spring Forward. Love, love, love!

6. Fresh flowers my honey sent to me at work this week. I haven't mentioned him on here, but guys, he sure is a keeper :)

7. The baby sweater I started on the way home from Nashville is almost done.

8. Sunny days and spending time with Magpie!

9. Neuroknitter and Cotty socks are like a match made in heaven. Warms my heart. Love them Gail!

10. If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you've seen that I've been drinking Shakeology and participating in a Challenge Group for fitness and healthy eating following the 21 Day Fix plan! I even took it with me on my trip to Nashville (love my mini travel blender my coach sent me! I just sent it to my friend who signed up for Shakeology too because I love it that much!)

I love it...the Challenge Group is a private group on Facebook and it is like a Knit-along but for health and fitness! It is exactly the accountability and cheerleading that has been missing for me the past few years and with all of my health problems, especially with the chronic headache pain issues resulting from radiation the past year, I wanted to try something different. It has been a month and all I can say is I'm so glad I made this choice!! I've lost 9 pounds (that includes all the biscuits and fried chicken in Nashville....Tricia will post those pictures later this week!) and I've had more energy, I'm feeling better, and I've had less sugar cravings. 

But more important than the 9 pounds, I have had multiple days in a row of not needing my "breakthrough pain" medications for chronic migraine/head pain related to my radiation treatments last year. I messaged my coach 4 days into my second week when I hadn't needed to use the meds for 4 days straight saying I didn't want to jinx it but WOW! I felt amazing. I knew it was the shakeology and probably my change in eating habits because nothing else had changed. For the past three weeks, I've only had 6 days of needing to use my pain meds during the day and that is UNHEARD of for me since October of 2013. Seriously, my sister and I couldn't recall a 2 days in a row of not needing the breakthrough pain meds (my cancer team and pain specialists at Stanford are amazing and I am still on a lot of other meds that are more preventative for the head pain, but the breakthrough pain was that bad). So for that reason alone, the last three weeks were wins for me!

You guys have been on this health journey with me the past few years, and I wanted to share how well I've been feeling! And thank you for those of you cheering me on and sharing your tips on IG and twitter. Here's my before picture on the left and my picture 19-days into my challenge in Nashville!

We started another challenge group this week, so if you'd like to join this one (or the next!) or, feel free to email me irishgirlieknits AT gmail DOT com if you're interested.

11. Our challenge group posts pictures of their healthy food (see, totally like a KAL....posting WIPs, etc.!), motivational posts, and "sweaty" pics after their workouts! These women are rockstars. Well, with all my pain issues the past year, just building up my endurance to going to work has been a goal. After the first challenge group and starting to feel better, I decided this week was to tackle fitness. 15 minutes last night...baby steps.... just for you guys...because I'm a dork and knew you'd love it! Here's me after my first workout in months!! 

Quick. What good things are going on in your lives? I want to hear!! And to keep the good juju going, leave a comment with your good thing and we'll pick a few free pattern winners from the comments.

Happy Knitting!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Nashville

I know you haven't heard much from me lately, but I've been knitting, knitting, knitting getting ready for STITCHES South! And I'm super proud to release a new crescent shawl in The Plucky Knitter's new yarn, Snug Fingering.

Introducing, NASHVILLE     







Nashville is the Grand Ole Opry. The Blue Bird Cafe. Honkytonks. Fried chicken. Barbeque. Fabulous antiques and flea markets. The city of Nashville represents that down-home, country feel just perfectly. I tried to capture that southern comfort in this design. Blue jeans, your favorite boots, and the perfect lace shawl to add a pop of color for a girls' night on the town.



Nashville is on sale for $5.00 through the end of April, plus see below for a special Stitches South coupon code for an additional discount on this pattern and other IGK patterns!


Suggested Yarns: for 2-color version: ~ 600 yards (Color MC) and 160 yards (Color CC); or for 5-color gradient version: 160 yards (Color A), 70 yards (Color B) 120 yards (Color C), 175 yards (Color D), 235 yards (Color E) of fingering weight yarns such as The Plucky Knitter Snug Fingering or The Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering  

Finished measurements:  ~72” wide and 19” long at center point, after blocking



Erica looks just fabulous modeling these photos! Thanks Erica and her dad (lucky me that he's a professional photographer too!) for taking care of the photoshoot on our tight deadline. I know a lot of you were following Erica's sneaky tweets and IG posts about her sample/test knitting for this! When Sarah, The Plucky Knitter, and I talked about me designing something since I was going to Stitches South, I was a bit jealous knowing Erica was going to be able to knit the sample in Snug Fingering! Lucky girl!! It is divine!

Be sure to stop by The Plucky Knitter Booth 421, 423, 425, 520, 522, 524 

I'm beyond excited to be heading to Nashville this week for STITCHES South. I'll be floating around the show with dear friends and I hope to bump into lots of IGK and Plucky friends from here, Instagram, Twitter, and my ravelry group. You guys are just the best and you know I love meeting you in person.

I'm hoping to be wearing the gradient version of this shawl in five colors (Silver Lining, Early Light, Inspiration Point, Cryin' Icicles, Big Sky) of Primo Fingering. It's just divine! I've been taking it everywhere trying to catch a spare moment to knit on it.


From softball games....


To my favorite IGK office...


To knit night tonight....

And if I don't bump into you at STITCHES, or you can't make it to Nashville, make sure to be checking the ravelry group for updates. We have a thread dedicated to the event. Pop into the thread because I want to see what all of you are up to, sites to see in Nashville, best places to eat, and of course what colors you'll choose for your crescent shawl! It works perfectly for our current Color KAL too!

You should also check out Plucky's special Road Trippin' with Plucky- A Contest thread on ravelry for all of the Plucky fun to celebrate their debut at Stitches South!

Of course, we have to celebrate and have a Stitches sale, right?! All Irish Girlie Knits patterns $6.00 or less (including Nashville) are 20% off when you use the coupon code: STITCHES  through April 27.

Back to knitting for me!!

Happy Knitting!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits